How to Access Council Information

The GIPA Act and Regulation require certain information to be disclosed by Council, unless it is not in the public interest to do so. This is referred to as Open Access Information.

Wherever possible, Burwood Council tries to make Open Access Information available on this website. The table below shows the Open Access Information required by the the GIPA Act and Regulation and how you can access it. 

Proactive release of information goes beyond the minimum statutory requirements to publish certain information on the Council website under its mandatory disclosure obligations. It is a more efficient and more effective means of sharing information that supports community participation in Council processes and decision making.

Burwood Council generates and collects a great deal of information as part of exercising its many and varied functions. Council has a Proactive Release Program in place, which seeks to identify high interest and/or significant information that should be added to information that is already widely accessible. The Program involves the active review of public interest in Council affairs at least once a year. Council is also mindful of building proactive release principles into its corporate governance systems so that service design and review processes support this.

Most commonly sought information is available on this website. Search the website or use the table in the section "Mandatory Disclosure of Open Access Information" on this page to see whether the information you are after is already publicly available.

If the information you are after is not available, you may submit an informal request for the information under Section 8 of the GIPA Act. 

Council will release government information unless there is an overriding public interest against disclosure. While there is no mandated deadline for assessing informal applications, Council aims to provide complete informal requests for information within 20 working days.

Note that certain information can only be accessed through a Formal Access Application.

Click here to submit an Informal Release Application

Open access information is either already available on this website or is available through Informal Release. For other information, a Formal Access Application is required.

Formal Access Applications are dealt with in accordance with Part 4 of the GIPA Act, which sets out the applicable processes, timeframes, and fees. Formal Access Applications are finalised within 20 working days. Application and processing fees and details are available on this page. 

If you are refused access under a Formal Access Application, you may request a review or appeal the decision. See the "Rights of Review" section on this page.

Click here to submit a Formal Access Application 

Under Section 64 of the GIPA Act, Council charges certain fees as outlined in the table below.

View Burwood Council's Fees and Charges 2023-2024

Where a member of the public is refused access under the GIPA Act, Council Officers will provide details of the reasons for refusal in writing. An applicant who has been refused access to information requested under a Formal Access application under the Section 80 of the GIPA Acthas three options for review available:

1.  Applicants can apply to Council for an internal review. The review is conducted by someone more senior than the original decision maker and there is a $40 application fee. Applicants have 20 working days from receiving notice of a decision to ask for an internal review.
2. If an applicant is not satisfied with the internal review, or does not want one to be conducted by Council, they can ask for an external review by the Information Commissioner. Applicants have 40 working days from being notified of a decision to ask for this review.  
3. If an applicant is not satisfied with the decision of the Information Commissioner and/or the internal reviewer, or if they do not want to take these options, they can apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) for a determination. Applicants have 20 working days from a review by the Information Commissioner or 40 days from an internal review by Council to ask for a review by NCAT.

It is noted that there are no rights of review in respect of open access applications, but the applicant may make a formal application at any time.

Click here to request an internal review here to request an internal review of a decision made under the GIPA Act.

Click here for information provided by the Information and Privacy Commission about other review processes. 

The Agency Information Guide has been prepared in accordance with Section 20 of the GIPA Act and is reviewed annually.

The guide:

• Outlines Council's structure and functions
• Outlines the right of the public to participate in the formulation of policy
• Identifies the various kinds of information held by Council
• Identifies information that is publicly available 
• Identifies where a charge is imposed.

Burwood Council Agency Information Guide(PDF, 3MB)

The disclosure log is prepared in accordance with Section 25 of the GIPA Act and includes the details of information released in response to Formal Access applications.

Click here to view the current Disclosure Log(PDF, 220KB)

Under the GIPA Act, when deciding whether or not to release information, Council must consider whether there is an overriding public interest against releasing the information.

Section 6(5) of the GIPA Act requires Council to keep a record of Open Access Information that it does not make publicly available on the basis of an overriding public interest against disclosure. This record needs to indicate the general nature of the information concerned. 

Burwood Council's record under Section 6(5) is outlined below. 

• Personal information contained in records received in relation to a proposed development is redacted to ensure compliance with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act). This information is redacted to enable the remainder of the record to be released as permitted by s6(4) of the GIPA Act and in accordance with Open Access requirements.
• The principal place of residence and signatures contained in the declarations of interests by councillors and designated persons are redacted to enable the remainder of the record to be released as permitted by s6(4) of the GIPA Act and in accordance with Open Access requirements.
• Submissions received on Development Applications lodged after 1 July 2010 are currently only made available on the DA Tracker on Council's website where the staffing resources are available to redact any personal information contained in those submissions. This is to ensure compliance with the PPIP Act. Where those submissions are not available on the DA Tracker, they can be accessed by submitting an Informal Request for Access to Information. 

Record updated: 15 January 2023

Even though Council has extensive obligations under NSW legislation to release information it holds, it must also abide by the Copyright Act 1968 administered by the Australian Government.

This means that the form of access to information may be restricted to being able to view the document, rather than receiving a copy. Examples of information that fall into this category include building designs, construction plans, consultant reports and various technical publications.

The Copyright Act protects intellectual property rights, which are automatically created when literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and other works covered by the Act are created. This means copyright may be infringed by using copyright material without the permission of the copyright owner. Significant penalties for breaches can be applied.

Restrictions on use under the Copyright Act include reproducing material, making the material public for the first time and communicating the material to the public e.g. via email or the internet.  Reproducing material includes photocopying, copying by hand, photographing, filming, recording and scanning.  Such uses are exclusive rights of the copyright owner. Therefore, anyone who wants to use the material of others in such ways generally needs the permission of the owner.

If Council can supply copies of documents without breaching copyright provisions, fees for copying the material may apply.  Details on fees are outlined in the Burwood Council Fees and Charges(PDF, 1MB) policy.

Where a document is subject to copyright and Council holds information about the copyright owner, Council will share that information with the applicant to assist them with seeking copyright approval from the owner, if desired. 

It is noted that the publication of plans and technical reports on the DA Tracker as part of a planning process does not breach copyright because that publication is specifically indemnified under the section 10.14 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 but only for the purposes of that Act. In the case of an access application under the GIPA Act, sections 6(6) and 72(2)(c) of the GIPA Act make it clear that the GIPA Act does not override copyright and Council is unable to make copies of those plans or technical reports, even if they were previously part of a planning process. However, Council can provide you access to view such material without breaching copyright.

The Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPAA) came into effect on 1 July 2010 and replaced the former Freedom of Information Act.

The GIPA Act:

• creates new rights to information that are designed to meet community expectations of more open and transparent government.
• encourages government agencies to proactively release government information.

Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 No 52 

The Government Information (Public Access) Regulation 2018 outlines the requirements for implementation of the GIPA Act. Schedule 1 of that Regulation outlines additional open access requirements for local councils.

Government Information (Public Access) Regulation 2018

Find out more from the Information and Privacy Commission of NSW (IPC).